(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-11-17 17:26

BELGRADE - Elections for 100 members of Kosovo's parliament as well as councilors and heads of 30 municipalities kicked off in the Serbian breakaway province on Saturday.

Voters cast their ballots at a polling station in Pristina, Kosovo, Saturday, Nov. 17, 2007. Kosovo's voters were choosing a new parliament Saturday they hope will deliver independence from Serbia. [Agencies]

About 1.5 million voters are expected to cast their votes.

The elections were scheduled to last from 07:00 local time (06:00 GMT) to 19:00 (18:00 GMT). Some 150 Council of Europe observers and 25,000 local monitors were deployed around the polling stations. NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR)'s 16,000-strong peacekeepers and around 9,000 police were also called to guard against any possible disturbances.

Candidates from a total of 25 parties were contesting, including those from nine Albanian parties, 14 minority slates and two independent candidates.

The elections were the third in the Serbian province since the deployment of KFOR international peacekeepers in 1999 and the first that held on the basis of proportional representation.

Unlike in earlier polls when voters voted only for party lists, this time they are allowed to cast free votes.

The elections watchdog Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe has said preliminary results of the votes will be announced in two or three days and the final results are expected to be released by the end of the month.

Independence for Kosovo was the dominant theme in the election campaign and the only issue on which all political leaders agreed unanimously, pushing the local economy, the problem of massive unemployment and social welfare into second place.

Serb leaders have called for a boycott, claiming "there are no instruments in place" to protect them against being outvoted by ethnic Albanians.

Although eight Serb representatives from some fringe groups are named on ballots, most Serbian would-be candidates are boycotting the election at the behest of the Serbian government.

Belgrade remains staunchly opposed to Kosovo's independence, saying that it is prepared to offer ethnic Albanians broad local autonomy within Serbia's borders.

The KFOR Commander Lieutenant General Xavier de Marnhac said that the international peace forces would strive to ensure security for all voters and that the elections were going on peacefully.

Analysts say the elections can likely end decades of domination by the Democratic Alliance of Kosovo of late president Ibrahim Rugova, which is, according to surveys, trailing the Democratic Party of Kosovo led by Hashim Thaci, a 39-year old former guerilla commander during the Kosovo war.